Most people dream of achieving their goals, whatever they are. In all walks of life, you’ll find those that succeed and those who haven’t succeeded yet. What sets these two kinds of people apart is the way they approach their goals. Without the right approach, your goals will remain on a distant horizon, tormenting you with thoughts of what might have been.
Luckily, since you’ve stumbled across “Using Gamification to Achieve Goals”, our helpful guide to gamifying your goals, that’s not something you need to worry about anymore. Here at Growth Engineering, we’re in the business of making people more awesome than they thought they ever could be, and achieving goals plays a big part in that.
The main reason that some goals sit unachieved on dusty shelves is that they weren’t proper goals in the first place. Let’s look at the most common non-goal – “I want to be rich.” How do you define ‘rich’? If it’s a question of wealth, then how much money will you need before you can call yourself rich? Also, when do you think this will happen – tomorrow? Next year? If your goal isn’t very specific then your means toward achieving it won’t be either.
Using Gamification to Achieve Goals
Think of your goal as a game. A game without rules is neither fun to play, nor is it possible to win. Similarly, a vague goal is impossible to achieve. As a consequence of applying game mechanics to your goals, they become more solid, more structured, and thus more achievable. The other bonus of gamification is that it makes everyday things (like working towards your goals) more fun and this, as we all know, means you might actually enjoy them!
Levels
Once you have a realistic goal, the first thing to do is to break it down into smaller chunks. Each of these steps is a goal in itself but because they are smaller, achieving them isn’t such a daunting task. You can think of these steps as levels, each one depending on the completion of the last, just like a game, and if you’re really creative, you can name your levels too.
Points
The essence of gamifying your goals is to think of them in terms of a game. Build a points system into the task – that way you have a means of measuring your progress. As a simple example, if your goal is to save money, each unit of currency would count as a point. With a little imagination, you can think of ways to assign points to any goal.
Progress Bars
Once you have that, you can create a visual system of tracking your progress towards your goal – like a progress bar. You can easily do this in a spreadsheet, on a whiteboard or on a good old-fashioned piece of paper. Once you can see how far along your path you’ve traveled, you’ll be more motivated to continue.
Rewards
The sense of satisfaction once you have achieved your main goal is a pretty big reward. The great thing about breaking your goals down and creating levels is that you can reward yourself at every stage! Think of something you enjoy – like a slice of Battenberg or a nice cold cider – and assign this treat to each stage of your goal. It can even be something as simple as a ten-minute break; the important thing is that once you have something to work towards, it does wonders for your motivation.
So, if you have a long-term goal (preferably one that makes sense), break it down and apply a few game mechanics to it. And when you’re smiling to yourself and dipping your Battenberg into your cider, think of your friends here at Growth Engineering.
If you want to turbo-charge your learning and development with some motivational rocket fuel, try out our Academy LMS – the world’s best gamified social Learning Management System. To see it in action, jump aboard the next Academy LMS tour by clicking this text.
